V-Day.

Hello to all. Before my post, I just thought I would let you know that things are thumbs up at the Jeff and Rainey Anderson household. Last Friday I took Syd to her two month check up, and she'd gained two ounces, and her chest sounded clear. So I'm taking that as Sydney being on her way to full recovery. She's breathing, sleeping, eating and pooping SO much easier. And this makes all of us happy and thankful for answered prayers. I wanted to thank all of you for your concern and offers of help. We truly lucked out with the friends and family that we have. She's back to melting our hearts and making us laugh.I had to post this picture because it doesn't matter whether she's gained weight or not, whenever a baby goes into the Doctor's office or hospital, you see how truly tiny they are. And if you're a constant worrier like I am, you also really appreciate what a miracle having a healthy and happy baby is. Anyway, that's the end of my emotional dialog. Thanks again to everyone for all their love and support. Shauna, thanks for the offer of the lobelia--or however it's spelled. I have been using Baby Vicks on her neck and chest, and that seems to work great. I will definitely keep that in mind, though, should the Vicks stop doing its job. Also, Kory--I'm totally holding you to that Nickleback party. And to Moriah, I'm sad to say that they indeed ARE still a band...and I just can't get away from them here. For some reason, Utah radio stations hold big love towards them, and lately my ipod has been permanently glued into my car...
Anyhoo, life for me has been busy, busy, busy. I have almost completely memorized the Chowder DVD that the kids got for Christmas. You may be asking who Chowder is...and for those of you that don't know, you must watch it. Check it out on the Cartoon Network. You can see a few episodes online, and I'm pretty confident you'll be as hooked as I am--it's about a fat kitten named Chowder and he loooooves to eat. Need I say more? You'll thank me later.
When I'm not actually watching Chowder, which is unusual, because that DVD gets some serious play, I'm still doing "mom stuff". In fact, sickness aside, this time around having a baby has been so fun. It was also fun with Riley and Cole, yeah, but there was this sense of urgency. I was always waiting for them to get that much bigger--where they could hold their own bottle, or sit up, or talk. Now I'm just able to hold Syd whenever I want. I can watch her sleep and snuggle with her during her frequent and short naps. I do what I can inbetween feedings but now I'm okay with my house being a disaster, and I'm fine with not showering until like, two in the afternoon. (Note disaster in the background). To the common reader this may sound like I've given up, and that I've let everything go. However, I think that this is the way it always was-- only this time I refuse to feel guilty about it. Ahhh...so much nicer. It really helps to have a husband that supports me about this, too. With the other two babies I put a lot of pressure on myself, because supposedly every other mom that I saw had it all together, so I pushed myself to fit into that category. It was all me. Jeff is just fine with me really not doing anything during the day except run and take care of the kids. I'm a lucky woman. And given my ability to tolerate stress, this is a huge relief.
So a happy Valentine's Day to everyone! This had to be my most hated holiday growing up. And it's not like I celebrate it much now, either. It's for sure I'm not a jewelery or flower girl. I'm just not into that stuff. But, being with Jeff has certainly made me change my mind a bit; gone is the extreme bitterness. I'm still blissfully in love. I'm more jiggly and less self involved, but my husband still makes my heart swell and I feel my best when I'm around him. Weird that. And terrific beyond words, too.
For the kids, it's a different matter. Both are quite excited, as they are getting their Valentines ready to pass out on Friday. Last Saturday Jeff helped both Riley and Cole with their boxes. This is something I never did as a kid. I mean, we had our little boxes for Valentines, but they were usually made at school and I went all out with mine--I'd draw some hearts on it, or maybe pull out the big guns and GLUE some hearts on. I was big time, obviously. However, when Riley started school, I realized I wasn't as big time as I originally thought. I helped in her class a couple of times and saw that the other more productive parents had supplied their children with Valentine boxes of a much higher caliber than Riley's Tupperware bowl with multi-colored hearts. I'm talking like, huge paper-mache creations complete with multiple openings for all their children's friends to fill with letters and love. I quickly handed that job over to Jeff, as he's the "creative master" in this household. This year, the kids told him what they wanted, and though they aren't paper-mache, I think they fit Riley and Cole's personalities quite well. (Just in case you can't see, the mouths of both creatures is where the Valentines will be deposited. I was overly impressed with my kid's and Jeff's genius).
Both kids are way excited. I'm excited for them. I remember always loving going through my valentines after school, and pretending the boy that I had a crush on only gave me the valentine with the very special message of love...I can pretty much read anything into anything. Just give me proper motivation. Riley and I for sure will be doing a LOT of speculating on the hidden messages of her valentines Friday afternoon. Cole, too...but he'll probably just blow me off for the massive amounts of candy he's banking on receiving. Boys, sometimes, are no fun. I hope all of you have a great weekend with your significant others, regardless of whether or not you're haters of St. Valentine. I think it's important in this busy life to have these little holidays to set some time aside and just enjoy each other and I appreciate the fact that every now and then my calendar tells me it's time to do just that. Peace out, Yo.